Business of Food and Agriculture
FST 518:
The Business of Food and Agriculture
Fall 2012
Meetings:
Instructor:
Contact info:
Office Hours:
3 Credits
Wednesday’s 4:00 pm- 7:00 pm
David Gancy
DGancy@chatham.edu
Wednesday’s 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Course Description
In this class the student will study business and entrepreneurial activities with a focus on the food
and agriculture industry.
The course will utilize teachings from modern business leaders, authors and teachers in the fields
of leadership, management, strategy, marketing and innovation.
Case studies will be used to examine real world problems with definable solutions.
Course participants will study business math beginning with simple numbers, ratios and
commonly used financial terms to gain an understanding of financial statements and bookkeeping
processes
Students will develop and present business plans as their course project.
Student Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students will be able to…
 Discuss modern business activities, management, marketing, accounting
 Perform industry analysis and develop competitive strategy
 Read and comprehend financial statements, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flows
 Prepare and understand personal financial statements and bookkeeping processes
 Understand and apply leadership principles
 Understand, develop, and present the components of a business plan in the food industry.
Course Requirements:
Business Plan Project:
Students will work individually or in a group to develop a comprehensive business plan that
focuses on food and sustainability.
Analytical Papers
Students will be required to submit 1 page analytical papers on the weekly topics and readings
Homework
Students will be asked to complete business math assignments every week.
Reading
There will be multiple readings per week.
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Business of Food and Agriculture
Required Texts
Steven Covey. Seven Habits of Highly Successful People
Peter Drucker, The Essential Drucker
Tom Kelley, The Art of Innovation
Seth Godin, The Purple Cow
Required On-line reading:
Harvard Business Publishing, (HBP) Red Tomato, Keeping it Local
HBP, Relentless Idealism for Tough Times, Chez Panisse
HBP, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey
HBP, Notes on Quality, The Views of Deming, Juran and Crosby
Computer Competencies All students are expected to have basic knowledge and access to
Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Adobe Reader and e-mail. Course content will be
accessed through Moodle.
Course Policies
Absences from class must be excused. Every student enrolled at Chatham accepts the
responsibility to attend all required class meetings. To obtain the fullest benefits from the courses,
students must participate fully. This implies attending regularly, engaging in course activity,
completing work on time, and making up work missed because of an emergency absence. It is the
student’s responsibility to let the course instructor know with-in the drop-add period if he or she
will have to miss class for religious reasons, athletics or other reasons.
You will be allowed one excused absence for the semester. Participation requires both active
engagement in class and respect for the comments and input of other students, guests, and
professors. Missing more than one class will lower your grade - participation in class is worth
20% of your grade.
Assignments will be due on the scheduled date for full credit. Late submissions will be
automatically deducted 5 points for each day late. If you have to miss a class on a day that an
assignment is due, the assignment can be submitted by an e-mail before class for full credit.
Writing and Proofreading - Proofread the assigned papers before they are submitted; use a spellchecker and grammar checker. Do not expect the capstone professor to be your proofreader.
Peer feedback will be provided in class by your colleagues.
Grading:
Class participation and attendance
Homework and papers
Business plan write-up
Business Plan presentation
30%
30%
30%
10%
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Business of Food and Agriculture
Tentative Schedule of Readings and Class Topics
Week One
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Introduction and course overview.
“Modeling for Success”
Business Concept Formulation
Covey pg. 1-94
Business Math 1: Revenues
Week Two
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Leadership: Principles, Paradigms and Proactivity
Develop Mission Statements, scope outline
1)Covey pg. 95- 182
2)Drucker 1-38
Business Math 2: Expenses
Week Three
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Management: Business is a Liberal Art
Executive Summary
1)Covey pg. 183-234 2)Porter pg. 1-100
Business Math 3: Assets
Week Four
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Strategy: Industry Analysis
Market Analysis
1) Covey pg. 235-318 2) Porter 101-200
Business Math 4: Liabilities
Week Five
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Strategy: Competitor Analysis
Competitive Strategy
Purple Cow
Business Math 5: Profit & Loss
Week Six
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Marketing
Develop
The Art of Innovation
Business Math 6: Balance Sheets
Week Seven
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Innovation
Marketing Plan
1)The Art of Innovation
Business Math 7: Taxes
Week Eight
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Management: Gemba Kaizen, Japanese Manufacturing
Sales Campaigns
Keeping it Local: Red Tomato
Business Math 8: Payroll
2)Notes on Quality
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Business of Food and Agriculture
Week Nine
Discussion:
Keeping it Local; Case Study 1
Business Plan:
Reading:
Drucker pg. 136- 190,
Homework:
Business Math 9: Insurance
Week Ten
Discussion:
The Entrepreneur; Business Start up Mechanics,
Business Plan:
Reading:
HBR: Relentless Idealism for Tough Times
Homework:
Business Math 10: Debt, Loans, Interest
Week Eleven
Discussion:
Chez Panisse, Case Study 2
Business Plan:
Reading:
Drucker pg. 191-286
Homework:
Business Math 11- Statement of Cash Flows
Week Twelve
Discussion:
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Keys to the Vault,
Funding, Financing, Sources and Uses
HBR Interview with John Mackey
Annual Reports, ratios to know
Week Thirteen: *Written Business Plans due
Discussion:
Whole Foods Growth
Business Plan:
Reading:
Homework:
Week Fourteen
Business Plan Presentations
Evaluations and Discussion
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Business of Food and Agriculture
Chatham College Honor Code:
Chatham College students pledge to maintain the Honor Code, which states in part:
“Honor is that principle by which we at Chatham form our code of living, working, and
studying together. The standards of honor at Chatham require that all students act with
intellectual independence, personal integrity, honesty in all relationships, and
consideration for the rights and well being of others.”
Information about the Honor Code is available in the Student Handbook.
Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain aid and/or
information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including
examinations. Plagiarism is defined as the use, without proper acknowledgement, of the
ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from another writer or speaker.
Disability Statement:
Chatham University is committed to providing an environment that ensures that no
individual is discriminated against on the basis of her/his disability. Students with
disabilities, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and
who need special academic accommodations, should notify the assistant dean of the
PACE Center as soon as possible. The PACE Center will work with students and the
course instructor to coordinate and monitor the provision of reasonable academic
accommodations.
Non-Registered Students Policy:
In accordance with University policy, only officially registered students may attend class
and all other classes offered at the University after the drop/add period. Please confer
with your academic advisor if you need assistance with the registration process or you
need additional information.
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